Method and system of scaling external resources for a receiving device

ABSTRACT

A system and method for forming an external tuner device and initializing the external device includes an enclosed over-the-air tuner housing having a over-the-air television tuner therein, an input power connector coupled to the housing, an antenna input coupled to the housing, a tuner signal output coupled to the housing and a dual over-the-air tuner circuit module disposed within the tuner housing in communication with the input power connector, the antenna input and the tuner signal output. The dual over-the-air tuner circuit module generates a first tuner signal from a first tuner and a second tuner signal from a second tuner and communicates the first tuner signal and the second tuner signal through the tuner signal output.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to broadcast programming and,more specifically, to a method and system for receiving bothover-the-air television signals that are broadcasted locally and othertelevision signals that are broadcasted using satellite or other means.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background informationrelated to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Satellite television has become increasingly popular due to the widevariety of choices available on a national level. Satellite televisionsystems use a set top box or other type of satellite receiver forreceiving and displaying satellite broadcasted material. In recentyears, the satellites are used to broadcast local channels by way of aspot beam to users in various markets. Local channels typically have aprimary channel with sub-channels. Sub-channels that are broadcasted inthe local markets typically are not carried by the satellite provider.The lack of sub-channels in the satellite system may be due to manyfactors including each of customer interest, and business and regulatorychallenges.

Some content users may desire access to the local sub-channels. In somecases, news and local weather may be carried on the local sub-channels.Some users may desire access to such information.

Satellite provider DIRECTV® in previous versions of set top boxesprovided one or two over-the-air tuners so that local content may bereceived over-the-air in addition to the satellite content. Theentertainment business, including the satellite television business, isincreasingly competitive. While a number of satellite customers desirelocal content that is not provided through the satellite, more and morecustomers find it sufficient to receive only the local content providedthrough the satellite.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a configuration for an external deviceand a method for initializing the device relative to a host device suchas a receiving device. By way of example, a separate dual-tuner devicefor receiving over-the-air broadcasts in local markets is incommunication with a satellite receiving device.

In one aspect of the disclosure, a method includes coupling an externaldevice to a receiving unit to form a connection, detecting theconnection within the receiving unit, activating the external device,communicating between the external device and the receiving unit.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, a system includes an enclosedover-the-air tuner housing having a over-the-air television tunertherein, an input power connector coupled to the housing, an antennainput coupled to the housing, a tuner signal output coupled to thehousing and a dual over-the-air tuner circuit module disposed within thetuner housing in communication with the input power connector, theantenna input and the tuner signal output. The dual over-the-air tunercircuit module generates a first tuner signal from a first tuner and asecond tuner signal from a second tuner and communicates the first tunersignal and the second tuner signal through the tuner signal output.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the descriptionprovided herein. It should be understood that the description andspecific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

FIG. 1 is a block diagrammatic system view of a communication systemaccording to the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagrammatic view of a receiving unit of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagrammatic view of a dual-tuner externaldevice of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of an external device on top of ahost device.

FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the external device.

FIG. 6 is an internal perspective view of the external device.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method of coupling and decoupling an externaldevice and a host device.

FIGS. 8A-8E are screen views of various user interfaces for connectingan external device to a host device.

FIGS. 9A-9E are block diagrammatic views of different types of hostdevices coupled to different types of external devices.

FIG. 10 is a state diagram of a method of operating an external device.

FIG. 11 is a block diagrammatic view of a portion of the controllershown coupled to the external device.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a method of operating the external device anda host device as illustrated in FIG. 11.

FIGS. 13A-13E are block diagrammatic views illustrating streaming datafrom the external device to two destinations within the host device.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a method of performing the steps illustratedin FIGS. 13A-E.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a method of abstracting the external devicefrom the host device.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of methods of entering a tuner into low powermode.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of a method of removing a tuner in low powermode.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a method of upgrading an external device withsoftware.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of a method of communicating a software upgradefrom the host device to the external device.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of a method of connecting an external storagedevice to a host device.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart of a method of connecting a network device to ahost device.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of a method for communicating a universal serialbus request block (URB) filled with data.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is notintended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. Forpurposes of clarity, the same reference numbers will be used in thedrawings to identify similar elements. As used herein, the term modulerefers to an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), anelectronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and memorythat execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinationallogic circuit, and/or other suitable components that provide thedescribed functionality. As used herein, the phrase at least one of A,B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A or B or C), using anon-exclusive logical or. It should be understood that steps within amethod may be executed in different order without altering theprinciples of the present disclosure.

While the following disclosure is made with respect to example DIRECTV®broadcast services and systems, it should be understood that many otherdelivery systems are readily applicable to disclosed systems andmethods. Such systems include wireless terrestrial distribution systems,wired or cable distribution systems, cable television distributionsystems, Ultra High Frequency (UHF)/Very High Frequency (VHF) radiofrequency systems or other terrestrial broadcast systems (e.g.,Multi-channel Multi-point Distribution System (MMDS), Local Multi-pointDistribution System (LMDS), etc.), Internet-based distribution systems,cellular distribution systems, power-line broadcast systems, anypoint-to-point and/or multicast Internet Protocol (IP) delivery network,and fiber optic networks. Further, the different functions collectivelyallocated among a service provider and integrated receiver/decoders(IRDs) as described below can be reallocated as desired withoutdeparting from the intended scope of the present patent.

Further, while the following disclosure is made with respect to thedelivery of content (e.g., television (TV), movies, games, music videos,etc.), it should be understood that the systems and methods disclosedherein could also be used for delivery of any media content type, forexample, audio, music, data files, web pages, games, etc. Additionally,throughout this disclosure reference is made to data, information,programs, movies, assets, video data, etc., however, it will be readilyapparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art that these terms aresubstantially equivalent in reference to the example systems and/ormethods disclosed herein. As used herein, the term title or program willbe used to refer to, for example, a media content type such as a movieitself and not the name of the movie.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a satellite television broadcasting system 10is set forth in the following example. The satellite televisionbroadcasting system 10 includes a network operations center (NOC) 12 incommunication with various content providers 13. The NOC 12 may also bereferred to as a head end. Various programming content may be providedfrom the content providers 13 including movies, sporting events and thelike. The content providers 13 may provide live feeds as well asrecorded material. The content providers may thus provide signals ormedia.

The network operations center 12 generates wireless communicationsignals 15 through a transmitting antenna 14 which are received by areceiving antenna 16 of a high altitude device such as a spaced-basedsatellite 18. The wireless communication signals, for example, may bedigital, digital video, data or digital audio. As will be describedbelow, the wireless communication signals may be entertainment content,live content, traffic, weather, hazardous material warning areas oradvertising marketing. The wireless signals 15 may be referred to asuplink signals. The wireless signals may also have various video andaudio information associated therewith.

Wireless communication signals 17 such as downlink signals may begenerated from the satellite 18. The downlink signal corresponds incontent to the uplink signals.

A transmitting antenna 20 of the satellite 18 communicates the downlinksignals 17 to various receiving systems including stationary systemssuch as those in a home 21 as well as mobile receiving systems 22.

The mobile receiving system 22 is disposed within an automotive vehicle24. Several mobile systems 22 may be incorporated into a network. Themobile receiving system 22 includes a receiving antenna 26A thatreceives the wireless signals 17 from the satellite 18 and processes thesignals in a receiving unit 28A. The mobile receiving unit 28 will befurther described below. The receiving unit 28A may be in communicationwith external devices 30 such as an over-the-air receiving unit incommunication with an over-the-air antenna 32. More than one externaldevice may be in communication with the set top box.

The satellites 18 may also be replaced with another high altitude devicesuch as a stratospheric platform 34 for transmitting content to themobile device, transmitting communication signals, transmitting lostcontent segments and transmitting location-specific signals.Stratospheric platforms 34 are manned or unmanned airplanes, airships,or the like that fly above commercial airspace. It is envisioned thatstratospheric platforms may fly at altitudes between 60,000 and 100,000feet from the surface of the earth. Thus, the stratospheric platformsare in a significantly lower position than even low earth orbitsatellites.

The stratospheric platforms 34 may also include a receiving unit 35 thatis used to receive signals from the satellite 18. The receiving unit 35may be referred to as a stationary unit since, although it moves, thestratospheric platform maintains a particular position above the earth.The receiving unit 35 may be used to transfer content segments orpackets to another node of the device.

The present invention may also be used for displaying and communicatingvarious wireless communication signals on a personal mobile device 36such as a laptop computer 38, a personal digital assistant 39, acellular telephone 40 and the portable satellite receiver 41 such as theSAT-GO® system provided by DIRECTV®.

The home 21 may include a host device such as a user receiving unit 28Bthat communicates with the satellite through the antenna 26B. Thereceiving unit 28B may also be in communication with a display 42 suchas a television.

A program guide system 43 may provide content guide information to thenetwork operation center 12. The program guide system 43 organizes dataavailable regarding the programming channels and organizes them forultimate transmission to the receiving devices including 28A-B and 35.The receiving devices may receive the program guide data and display agrid guide in response thereto. The program guide data may be referredto as program objects. The program object may also include identifiersfor the type of program (movie, sports, series), a series or shortidentifier and an episode number for a series. As will be furtherdescribed below, a content identifier, a Tribune Media Services® ID, aprogram information packet or another identifier may be used as anidentifier for a particular program. These may be found in the datacorresponding to the program guide system 43. The same or equivalentprogram or event may have the same or similar packet identifier,program-associated data, Tribune Media Services® ID or contentidentifier.

As mentioned above, the present disclosure also is used for receivingover-the-air content 44 from an antenna 46. The content may be broadcastover the air in an Advanced Television System Committee (ATSC) contentformat from an ATSC content source 48. Of course, the content may alsobe in other formats, such as NTSC format, ISDB-T and DVB-T/DVB-T2/DVB-H.The ATSC content 44 is local content that is communicated to the antenna32A, 32B associated with respective tuner modules or external devices.In one embodiment, the tuner modules 30A, 30B include two ATSC tunersthat are in communication with the receiving units 28A, 28B. Thereceiving units may also be referred to as a host unit and the tunerunits may also be referred to as an external device since they areexternal to the receiving units 28. As will be described below, auniversal serial bus (USB) may be used to communicate between the tunerunits 30 and the receiving units 28.

ATSC content source 48 may communicate guide information to the programguide 43 which is ultimately communicated to the users, receiving orhost devices. Various methods may be used to transmit the guide datafrom the source 48 including email or other types of communications.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the receiving units 28A, B described above arecollectively referred to as receiving unit 28 and is illustrated infurther detail. The receiving units may also be generally configured ina similar manner. The receiving units 28 may also be referred to asreceiving devices, user devices or host devices since they can host anexternal device. Antenna 26 may be various types of antennas including arotating antenna which is used to track the relative movement of thesatellite or other transponding device with respect to a vehicle. Theantenna 26 may be a single antenna used for satellite televisionreception. The antenna 26 may also be an electronic antenna. The antenna26 may include an internal controller 27 that controls the operation ofthe antenna 26, which is suitable for a moving or rotatable antenna. Theantenna 32 used for receiving over-the air signals may be physicallycombined with antenna 26.

The receiving unit 28 includes a display 54 associated therewith. Thedisplay 54 may be incorporated into the unit 28 or may be external tothe receiving unit 28 such as part of a vehicle 24 or television. Thedisplay 54 may have output drivers 56 used for generating the desiredaudio and video outputs suitable for the particular display 54.

A controller 60 may be a general processor such as a microprocessor. Thecontroller 60 may be used to coordinate and control the variousfunctions of the receiving unit 28. These functions may include a tuner64, a demodulator 66, a forward error correction decoder 68 and anybuffers and other functions. The tuner 64 receives the signal or datafrom the individual channel. The demodulator 66 demodulates the signalor data to form a demodulated signal or data. The decoder 68 decodes thedemodulated signal to form decoded data or a decoded signal. Thecontroller 60 may be similar to that found in current DIRECTV® set topboxes which employ a chip-based multifunctional controller.

The controller 60 may control various functions including activating theexternal devices, controlling communication between the host andexternal device, controlling a low-power mode, and controlling a programinterface (both adding and removing content).

It should be noted that more than one tuner 64, demodulator 66 andforward error correction decoder 68 may be provided in the system. Inthis example, a second tuner 64′, a second demodulator 66′ and a secondforward error correction decoder 68′ may be provided in the receivingunit 28. Of course, various numbers of tuners may be incorporated into areceiving unit 28.

The controller 60 may include or be coupled to a local bus 70. The localbus 70 may be used to couple a memory including dynamic memory 72 suchas RAM which changes often and whose contents may be lost upon theinterruption of power or boot up. The bus 70 may also be coupled to anon-volatile memory 74. The non-volatile memory 74 may be an in-circuitprogrammable type memory. One example of a non-volatile memory is anEEPROM. One specific type of EEPROM is flash memory. Flash memory issuitable since it is sectored into blocks of data segments that may beindividually erased and rewritten.

A digital video recorder (DVR) 76 may also be coupled to the local bus70. The digital video recorder 76 may be within the receiving device 28or coupled to the receiving device. The digital video recorder 76 may beused to store programming content or sub-contents. The DVR 76 may alsobe used to store program guide data or programming metadata.

Other memory devices 78 may also be coupled to local bus 70. The othermemory devices may include other types of dynamic memory or non-volatilememory. The display 54 may be changed under the control of controller 60in response to the data in the dynamic memory 72 or non-volatile memory74. Part of the memory 62 may be used as a buffer.

The controller 60 may also be coupled to a user interface 80. Userinterface 80 may be various types of user interfaces such as a keyboard,push buttons, a touch screen, a voice activated interface, or the like.User interface 80 may be used to select a channel, select variousinformation, change the volume, change the display appearance, or otherfunctions. The user interface 80 is illustrated as part of the receivingunit 28. However, should the unit 28 be incorporated into a vehicle, theuser interface 80 may be located external to the mobile receiving unitsuch as dial buttons, voice activated system, or the like incorporatedinto the vehicle and interface with the receiving unit.

A conditional access module 82 (CAM) may also be incorporated into thereceiving unit. The access module 82 may include software to allow thereceiving unit 28 access to various channels and wireless signalsgenerated by the system. Not having an access card or not having anup-to-date access card 82 may prevent the user from receiving ordisplaying various wireless content from the system.

One user interface is a remote control device 98 having a key pad 100,an arrow key pad 102, and a select button 104 may also be provided.Inputs to the receiver 28 may be provided by the remote control device98 or through another type of user interface 80. The remote controldevice 98 may be used in addition to or instead of user interface 80.

The controller 60 may include a usage prediction module 110. The usageprediction module 110 may generate a usage prediction signal thatcorresponds to whether or not the tuners or the ATSC external tuner maybe used. As will be set forth below, the usage prediction signal may beformed with various inputs, including inputs from the remote control 98,a timer 114, or the like. The timer 114 that is included within thereceiving unit may also be used to generate a time at which thereceiving unit is typically powered on, or may predict a time justbefore a recording event may start. The usage prediction module 110 andits corresponding signal may thus be used to remove a component from alow-power mode. For example, if the external device is an ATSC tuner,one or both of the tuners may be removed from a low-power mode basedupon the usage prediction signal from the usage prediction module 110.

The controller 60 may also include middleware 120 that may be used forinterfacing with a device driver 122, a packet identifier (PID) filter124 and a decoder 126. The device driver 122, the PID filter 124 and thedecoder 126 may be used for interfacing with the external device 30. Aswill be described below, the device driver 122 may be a universal serialbus driver. The middleware 120 is used for controlling the tuners 64 andother functions of the receiving unit 28 as well as interfacing with anexternal device 30 should the receiving unit 28 be coupled thereto.Further details of the operation of the middleware 120, the receivingunit 28 and the external device 30 will be further described below.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an external device 30 is illustrated in ahigh-level block diagrammatic view in further details. In this example,the device includes a dual tuner device that includes a first tuner 210and a second tuner 210′. The tuners may be ATSC tuners. Of course, othertuners such as QAM or NTSC may be used. Both tuners may be operable atthe same time. The external device 30 may also include a demodulator 212and 212′. A PID filter 214 and 214′ may also be included. Thedemodulators 212, 212′ are used to demodulate the tune signals and thePID filter 214 may be used to filter the signals based on a programidentifier. A first-in, first-out (FIFO) buffer 216, 216′ may beincluded in each receiving chain. A USB interface 218 may be incommunication with the FIFO buffers 216, 216′. The USB interface may bein communication with a USB connector 220. Another type of interface maybe used including other wired interfaces, a wireless interface, anetwork interface including an Internet connection or Ethernetconnection. The wireless connection may be a Bluetooth® connection.

A controller 222 may be used to control the various settings andoperation of the tuners 210, 210′, the demodulators 212, 212′, the PIDfilters 214, 214′, the FIFO buffers 216, 216′ and the USB interface 218.As will be set forth below, the controller may change various settingsin response to an upgrade.

The controller 222 may also be in communication with a first memory 224and a second memory 226. The memories 224, 226 may hold executable codefor configuring the controller, the demodulator, and/or the tuner. Thecommunications protocol firmware may also be included within the memory.The memory may be various types of memory devices including an EEPROM.The EEPROM is used to store the microprocessor controller 222 firmware.One of the memories 224, 226 may be used for executing themicroprocessor firmware.

The external device 30 may also include an RF port 228 used forcommunicating with an antenna such as antenna 32 illustrated in FIG. 2.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a receiving device 28 is illustrated having theexternal device 30 placed thereon. As can be seen, the external device30 may have a housing 280 that has the same width or about the samewidth as the receiving unit 28. The depth of the external device 30 andthe receiving unit 28 or host device may also be the same or similar.Such a configuration will allow the external device 30 to be placedabove or below the receiving unit 28. The external device 30 may includea light-emitting diode indicator 282 on the front panel thereon. Thelight-emitting diode indicator 282 may provide an indication that powerhas been provided to the external unit 30. The indicator 282 may alsoprovide an indication by flashing on and off states to communicateanother status to a user.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a partial rear view of the external device 30above the host device 28 is illustrated. The RF antenna input 228 isillustrated together with the USB connector 220. An electrical AC powerinput 284 may also be provided. An AC power output 285 may also beprovided.

To connect the external device to the receiving or host unit 28, a USBport 290 on the back of the receiving unit 28 may be coupled to the USBconnector 220. The power input cord used for the receiving unit 28 maybe coupled to the power input 284. The power output cable 285 may becoupled to the receiving unit 28 electrical power input 286. In thismanner, only one electrical cord needs to connect the receiving unit 28and the external device 30 to an AC power source. Other connectors 291may be located on the host device 28 for connections to other devicessuch as audio components, displays, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 6, should the external device 30 be a tuner, atuner module 290 may be placed within the housing 280. The tuner module290 may be a circuit board. As can be seen, the tuner module has an ACpower output coupled to cord 292. The connector 294 of cord 292 is usedfor coupling directly to the receiver unit 28.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a method of connecting and disconnecting anexternal device to a host unit such as a receiver unit is illustrated.In step 310, the external device is connected to a host unit. Theconnection may be performed wirelessly or wired. The physical connectionmay be through a USB cable and associated connectors. In step 312, theexternal device is detected at the host unit. The detection may beperformed automatically using the associated drivers and the like.Details of this will be described further below.

After step 312, step 314 displays an on-screen display (OSD) for anexternal device which in this example is for an antenna. In step 316,the external device is activated and initialized so that communicationmay take place between the external device and the host unit. After step316, the on-screen display or program guide may receive various elementsassociated with the external device. In step 320, the elements are usedto adjust the user interface to utilize the external device. In the caseof an ATSC tuner, ATSC channels and sub-channels not available prior tothe ATSC timer being coupled to the device are available.

In step 322, the external device may be removed. In step 324, anon-screen display may be activated to display a “disconnected” screen asillustrated in step 326. In step 328, the default user interface maythen be displayed so that the elements added corresponding to theexternal device are removed. Step 330 removes the ATSC functionality. Ifthe defaults are not re-set in step 328, an ATSC channel may be tuned orattempted to be tuned in step 332. A blank screen may be displayed ifthe connection with the external device is not reestablished in step334. In step 334, the ATSC channel may resume a normal connection shouldthe device again be connected to the external tuner.

In this manner, external resources may be dynamically added to thesystem to take advantage of them immediately.

Referring now to FIGS. 8A-E, a user interface 360 for tuning an off-airor over-the-air tuner is set forth. Once the over-the-air tuner isconnected to the host, such as the receiver unit, the user interface 360querying whether the user desires to configure the tuner in FIG. 8A. InFIG. 8B, an antenna setup may be selected by selection box 362. Aninitial setup in box 364 illustrated in FIG. 8C may be selected. Theuser interface screen 366 displayed in FIG. 8D provides a statement thatthe receiver will gather data from the program guide. The receiver datais used to supplement the usual program guide with local contentreceived over the air.

In FIG. 8E, the user interface 360 is displayed when the tuner has beenremoved from the system. Re-plugging in the tuner may automaticallyallow this screen to be removed.

Referring now to FIGS. 9A-9E, it should be noted that the externaldevice may be something other than a tuner. Also, the host device may bevarious types of receivers or set top boxes. The methods set forth belowmay apply to the various devices set forth in FIGS. 9A-9E. In FIG. 9A, aset top box 370 is in communication with a high definition televisiontuner such as an Advanced Television System Committee (ATSC) tuner 372.The set top box corresponds to the receiving unit 28 and the ATSC tunercorresponds to the external device 30. The ATSC tuner may be a dual ATSCtuner as described above.

Referring now to FIG. 9B, the set top box 370 may also be incommunication with a high definition tuner 374. One or morehigh-definition tuners within the HD tuner 374 may be in communicationwith the set top box 370. By providing an HD tuner 374, additional highdefinition programming may be provided to the set top box. As set topbox and tuner technology change, the life of the set top box 370 may beextended by providing an additional HD tuner 374 that includes newertechnology. The HD tuner 374 may be more energy-efficient or providedifferent functionality. The set top box 370 may be provided with no HDtuners and only additional HD tuners may be provided.

Referring now to FIG. 9C, set top box 370 is illustrated incommunication with a digital video recorder or memory 376. A set top box370 having no DVR capabilities may be provided DVR capability byproviding an external digital video recording unit 376. Additionally,the memory or DVR 376 may be provided to a set top box 370 that does notinclude such functionality. Therefore, the expansion to the set top boxmay be provided.

Referring now to FIG. 9D, the set top box 370 may be in communicationwith an HD tuner and a memory box 380. Both an HD tuner and a memory 380may be used to extend the capabilities of the set top box 370. Byproviding an HD tuner, a standard definition set top box may be providedwith HD functionality.

Referring now to FIG. 9E, the set top box 370 may be in communicationwith a communication interface 382. By providing the external resourceas a communication interface 382, other devices may be communicatedwith. Encryption services, protocol translations, audio-visual transporttranslators may all be provided so that different devices that supportdifferent formats may be able to view DIRECTV® video. The set top box370 may also view media from external sources. The media may benon-natively supported by the set top box 370. The communicationinterface 382 may convert the media format to a set top box supportedformat. The communication interface 382 has a bridge module 384 that isused to link the set top box 370 through a network 286 to another device390. The other device 390 may also provide a back channel via theInternet to communicate conditional access information or retrieveprogramming from the network operation center or head end. It should benoted that the network 386 may be a wired network or a wireless network.

The connections between set top box 370 and the other devices 372-382may be performed in various methods such as wired, wireless, Bluetooth®,RF, Optional or the like.

Referring now to FIG. 10, a state diagram of a host device or a receiveris illustrated. In box 410, the initialization state is set forth. Theinitialization state was described above in FIG. 7.

After the initialization state, a low-power state 412 may be entered iflow power mode is supported by the system. A low-power state may beprovided to have one or two tuners enter a low power mode should it bedetermined. From a low-power mode, a firmware update command may also beprovided in box 414. The firmware update 414 may provide updates to theexecutable code within the external device. A reset after the firmwareupdate will allow the system to enter the initialization state.

Referring back to the low-power state in box 412, a low-power mode offcommand may be entered to have the system enter a ready state in box416. A low-power mode 412 may again be entered from the ready state 416if a low-power mode on command is entered.

The systems may also be configured to not support a low-power mode.Therefore, after the initialization block in box 410, the system entersinto the Ready state 416. In the case of no low-power mode, a firmwareupdate mode 414 may be entered from the ready state given a FirmwareUpdate command.

After the ready state, a tuned mode 418 may be entered after receiving aset frequency command. That is, the receiver may provide tuning commandsto the tuner so that particular programming may be provided. The tuningprogram may set a frequency as illustrated by arrow 420. After thetuning mode, a streaming state 422 may be entered. The streaming state422 streams video from the external device to the host device. Once thestreaming state is entered, the tuner frequency may only be changed bystopping the stream and again calling the set frequency command 420again. Once the streaming state 422 is complete, the ready state 416 maybe provided. Entering the ready state will cause the transport data inthe buffers to be flushed. Streaming data may be from thecurrently-tuned frequency.

Referring now to FIG. 11, the software architecture within thecontroller of the receiver device or host device is illustrated. Asillustrated in FIG. 2, the receiving device or host device may includemiddleware 120 within a controller 60. The device drivers 450 include anATSC USB device node 452 and an ATSC USB driver 454. In this example, atuner communicating over a USB port is provided. A multiplexer driver456 and a playback channel or playback device 458 are in communicationwith the devices set up by middleware 120 through a first data stream459 and a second data stream 460. The number of streams in thisembodiment is two. However, various numbers of channels may be used. ALinux USB driver 470 may communicate control commands 472 and transportdata 474 to between the Linux USB driver and the ATSC USB driver. Theexternal device, such as the ATSC USB device 488, is in communicationwith the Linux USB driver which may include a first-in, first-out (FIFO)buffer 484. Tuner loctl control commands 490 may be exchanged betweenthe middleware 120 and the ATSC USB device nodes 452.

Referring now to FIGS. 11 and 12, a method for operating the blockdiagram illustrated in FIG. 11 is illustrated. In step 512, a firsttuner device node is opened. If the receiver unit 28 includes twointernal tuners and the external device includes two tuners, the tunersmay be opened as device node number 3 and device node number 4. Themiddleware application 120 is used to translate loctl control commandsto control the USB device 480. The middleware application 120 thusattaches a destination to the first tuner device node in step 514. Themiddleware application 120 tunes the first device node to a firstfrequency. The USB driver 454 opens a multiplexer channel at themultiplexer (MUX) driver 454 in step 518. The multiplexer channel mayalso be referred to as a virtual channel. The USB driver 454 sends acommand to the USB device 480 to start streaming data in step 520. TheMUX driver 456 manages the multiplexing of the data stream through theplayback channel 458. The multiplexer driver 456 claims one playbackdevice or channel for its usage. The playback device or channel selectedwill be unavailable for usage by any other subsystem or driver becauseof the different operations that will be performed on it. Themultiplexer channels look to the rest of the system like an input bandor tuner input. The channels also maintain configurations such astransport type, packet identifier (PID) channels that are associatedwith the MUX channel. When a MUX channel is used, the driver 456 willconfigure the physical playback device or channel to settings kept bythe multiplexer channel context.

In step 522, a second device node is opened. A Transport Stream channel(TS channel) may be assigned to the second device node. This device nodemay be referred to as the fourth tuner. The destination “TS channel 4”may be assigned to this node in step 524. In step 526, a secondmultiplexer channel may be open for a second path.

When the ATSC USB driver wishes to stream data into a particulardestination, commands may be sent to the multiplexer driver 456indicating which multiplexer channel it is using, the location of data,and the length of the data. The multiplexer driver 456 may set aphysical playback device or channel to the multiplexer channel contextsettings, enable all PID channels associated with the multiplexerchannel and send data through to the destination.

Referring now to FIGS. 13A-13E, a data streaming process is illustrated.The block diagrams illustrated in FIGS. 13A-13E are simplified blockdiagrams from those of FIG. 11.

Referring now also to FIGS. 13A-13E and FIG. 14, the USB device 480sends a USB request block 500 to the ATSC USB driver 454 in step 550. Instep 552, the Universal Serial Bus Request Block (URB) is received atthe USB device driver as illustrated in FIG. 13B. The device driverdetermines that it has come from a USB interface associated to streamnumber 1. The driver then sends the data to the multiplexer channel 1 inthe MUX driver 456. The multiplexer channels are virtual channels over asingle hardware channel. The data that is communicated from the URB tothe MUX driver is performed in step 556. In step 558, the physicalplayback device is set to the settings of the context associated withstream number 1. This is illustrated in FIG. 13C by block 502. In step560, the packet identifier channels associated with other MUX channelsare disabled and in step 562 the packet identifier channels associatedwith the current multiplexer channel are enabled. The MUX driver 456creates a playback descriptor for the data 504 in step 564. The playbackdescriptor is passed to the playback device. The playback device thensends the data 504 to destination 1 494. Destination 1 represents alldownstream devices of the playback parts which have been configured bythe middleware application for ATSC stream number 1. Step 566 sends thedescriptor to the physical playback device and step 568 generates aninterrupt indicating finishing processing of the playback descriptor.Operation for a subsequent URB for the ATSC stream 2 and ultimately thedestination 2 (reference number 496) will proceed in the same fashionexcept that the driver will determine that the URB has come from the USBinterface associated with ATSC stream 2. The configuration (settings anddata) of the second multiplexer channel is performed in block 459. Thedata will be sent to the virtual or multiplexer channel 2 and themultiplexer driver 456 will configure the physical playback device tohave multiplexer settings associated to the stream number 2. Again, thePIDs associated with multiplexer channel 2 will be enabled and allothers disabled. A descriptor for the data will be created and sent tothe physical playback device which will then send the data todestination 2 which corresponds to box 496. Switching will continue aslong as data from both ATSC streams is provided.

Referring now to FIG. 15, a method for performing abstraction of theattached external device is illustrated. The ATSC external device mayincorporate high-level communication protocol which allows forabstraction of the underlying hardware from the USB host device 28.Thus, the set top box or host device does not have to have an intimateknowledge of the underlying workings of the tuner. The external deviceis dynamically assigned to an internal abstracted device connection. Forexample, the USB host will not need to know the I2C address of the tunerand demodulator. Also, the host will not need to know how to toggle eachcomponent's registers to tune to various frequencies, enabledemodulation modes and which registers to read to determine thedemodulator lock. Thus, a unique driver 454 illustrated in FIG. 11 isprovided for the different type of device but not for the particularmodel and brand of the device. The loctl control commands are translatedby the device to driver 454 for communication to the USB device. Thus,the ATSC USB driver 454 creates an abstraction in the host device instep 610. The host device is then coupled to the external device in step612. The middleware creates loctl control command in step 614. In step616, the abstraction layer generates translated control to commands tothe external USB device 480. Examples of control commands include suchcommands as “tune to frequency X” or “read capabilities.” Through suchhigh-level commands, the details of retrieving the information areabstracted. Such abstraction is useful when hardware enhancements suchas advanced modulators or additional components such as PID filters areavailable. Hardware changes may be abstracted out as the communicationprotocol still can be implemented and the receivers obtain the desiredresults when issuing the communication commands.

Referring now to FIG. 16, as mentioned above, the external tuner devicesmay have a low-power mode. The tuner and demodulator may be referred toas a front-end group. The entire front-end group for each stream may beindependently controlled into a low-power mode. The front-end group mayinclude the demodulator and tuner. In step 650, the system is started.That is, at this point, the external tuners are in communication withthe receiving device or host device. The front-end groups are thuspowered in step 652. In step 654, it is determined whether or not thetuners are in use. If the tuners are in use, step 652 continues to powerthe front-end groups. In step 654, if the tuners are not in use, step655 determines if the front end group is in standby mode. If the frontend group is not in standby mode, step 656 calculates the time since theuse for a tuner. In step 658, if a predetermined time has not passed,step 656 is again repeated. In step 658, if a predetermined time haspassed, a low-power mode is entered in step 660. In step 655, if thefront end group is in standby mode, step 660 is performed and a lowerpower mode is entered.

An optional step may also be provided in step 662 that selects ahigh-power tuner to enter a low-power mode. The tuners may havedifferent power capacities and, thus, a lower-power tuner is poweredwhile a higher-power tuner may be selected to enter the low-power modeversus a lower-power tuner. Shifting tuning to a lower power tuner mayalso occur. The duties of a higher power tuner may be shifted to a tunerthat uses less power. This may occur for multiple tuners based uponusage. It should also be noted that, should the external device be an HDtuner or a complimentary tuner to those inside the receiving device, thetuner with the lower power may be selected to enter the low-power state.Of course, the compatibility to time to the type of signal (e.g., ATSCvs. satellite) will be taken into consideration. Thus, if the attachedor external device tuners use lower power than the internal receiverdevices due to some technological advance, the external tuners may bepowered while the internal tuners may be placed in a low-power mode.

Referring now to FIG. 17, a low-power mode may be advantageous asdescribed above in FIG. 16. However, once a device is in low-power mode,an amount of time is needed to bring the electronic out of the low-powermode. Thus, the consumer may see a longer channel change time if a tuneris not taken out of low-power mode sooner. In the following method setforth in FIG. 7, a prediction signal may be generated to predict when totake a tuner out of low-power mode so that the user does not experiencea delay in changing channels. In step 710, various inputs may bereceived. As will be described below, a prediction signal may be formedusing various inputs or changes in the tuner device or the receivingdevice. Inputs may include the remote-control input that allows thereceiving device to determine the user is scrolling through the guidethrough the range of channels that will use the tuner in the low-powermode and, thus, it is likely that a tuner may be needed. Other tunerinputs include monitoring the dash key which indicates the user islikely to tune to an ATSC sub-channel. For example, when tuning to achannel such as 4-1, when the “−” key is pressed, the signal at thetuner will be generated. Usage patterns may also be the received inputsin step 712. For example, if the set top box is never interacted withbetween 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., the device may be safely put into alow-power mode. On the other hand, if the device is always used at aparticular time or particular time of day, then the inputs are usagepatterns that allow the device to be taken out of low-power mode inanticipation of use. Scheduled recordings may also be monitored so thata tuner may be taken out of low-power mode before the anticipatedrecording time.

In step 714, a usage prediction signal is generated. As mentioned above,the usage prediction signal may be based upon the inputs received instep 712. In step 716, an external device is controlled in response tothe usage prediction signal. The external device may be a tuner which istaken out of low-power mode in anticipation of use.

It should be noted that the most efficient device may be taken out oflow-power mode prior to higher-power devices. This allows the wholesystem to use less power.

Referring now to FIG. 18, a method for upgrading the software of anexternal device is illustrated. The external device has the capabilityfor upgrading its firmware in the field through a variety ofdistribution methods. Distribution may be performed in several manners,including satellite broadcast, wired network communication, wirelessnetwork communication, or a combination. In step 750, the softwareupgrade is obtained for the external device. The upgrade may be obtainedat the set top box or at a computer that may be used for independentlyupgrading the external device. In the present example, the set top boxis used. In step 752, the software upgrade is communicated to the settop box. In step 754, the external device is coupled or connected to theset top box. In step 756, a query is performed for the external deviceidentifiers. If a new software image is not available, step 760 ends. Instep 758, if the software image is available, updates are begun in step762.

It should be noted that the identifiers in step 756 may be used toidentify the make and model in different manufacturers of the tunerdevice. Preferably, the manufacturers implement the same communicationprotocol, since the abstraction above obscures the actual communication.The software images may be provided to the set top box on a regularbasis or on a revolving basis in a similar manner to the program guide.When an external device is coupled to the set top box, the softwareupgrade may be provided automatically. The upgrade may be stored in RAMor other persistent memory of the set top box and communicated to theexternal device when needed. Rules may be developed for upgrading underpredetermined conditions such as subscriptions or the like. Downgradesbased on conditions may also be forced. Different versions may beautomatically upgraded if older versions exist.

Referring now to FIG. 19, a method for updating the firmware isillustrated. In step 810, the system starts. A firmware updateannouncement is generated in step 812. After step 812, if an erroroccurs in the announcement in step 814, the system responds with anerror signal in step 816 and again performs the start function in step810. If no error is present in the announcement in step 814, theexternal device is prepared for a firmware update and sends anacknowledge signal. In step 820, the firmware update is provided inchunks. A chunk is then verified in step 822 once it is received. Thechunk is processed and if there was an error in step 824, the number oferrors is checked in step 827. If the error count is less than a limit,then the system responds with an error signal in step 826. In step 827,if the number of times through the loop exceeds the limit, then thesystem waits for a firmware update announcement again in step 810.

In step 824, if no error was generated, an acknowledge signal isgenerated in step 826. If the last block has not been received in step830, steps 820-828 are again performed until the last block is receivedin step 830. In step 830, once the last block has been received, step832 is performed. In step 832, the device status firmware updatecomplete flag is set within the external device to provide notice thatthe firmware update is complete.

Referring now to FIG. 20, the user interface of the device may bechanged according to the resources added and removed to the system. Asmentioned above, the tuner may be added and the channel selections maybe changed in the user interface. However, other types of devices may beadded which include a storage device. In step 860, a storage device isconnected to the receiver unit. The storage device may be a hard driveor other type of memory or a portable storage device such as a personalportable media player.

In step 862, the user interface selection may be changed. In step 864,content of the storage device may be browsed through the receiver unit.In step 866, the content may be played back directly from the storagedevice through the receiver unit by selecting a selection from the userinterface that has been modified in response to the coupling of thereceiving device and the external device. Such a configuration allows aportable media player to store various content that may be played backon a particular display associated with a receiving device to which itis coupled.

Referring back to step 862, step 870 may also be performed thereafterthat allows the content from the storage device to be transferred to thereceiver unit. Thus, the user interface may be changed to allow or synchthe receiving device to the external user device. Likewise, the receiverdevice may also communicate content to the external device.

Referring now to FIG. 21, an extension of the concept may be to attachthe set top box to the Internet. Various channels may be availabledirectly through the Internet. In step 910, a network device isconnected to the receiver unit to allow the receiver unit to communicatethrough a network. In step 912, the user interface may be changed toaccommodate the new capability of the receiver unit to connect to anetwork such as the Internet. The network may be browsed in step 914.Thus, after browsing, various network channels may be viewed in step916. In step 918, network channels may be added to the user interface sothat when the program guide is browsed, the network channels may also bebrowsed as well.

Referring now to FIG. 22, the data between a tuner device and areceiving device may be shaped to optimize the connection through thereceiving port. In USB tuner systems, streaming modulated data isprovided for the entire transponder and, therefore, is wasteful since ahost may not need the entire amount of data. Thus, processing power isunnecessarily used within the host and bandwidth on the communicationmedium will be wasted. In step 950, tuning instructions are received.Program streams having packet identifiers are generated in step 952. TheHD streams may be filtered according to the PIDs and a reduced amount ofdata may be communicated through the program stream to the receivingunit in step 956. Because each packet may be tagged in the multiplexpacketized stream, the PIDs may identify from which stream the packet isa member. Because the host is only interested in a fraction of thestreams that the multiplex data stream carries, the PID filters may beplaced on the external USB device to remove the undesired streams. ThePID filters are illustrated as blocks 214 and 214′ in FIG. 3. Inaddition to or instead of steps 950-956, the USB request blocks (URBs)may be provided only when they are filled from the external device tothe host device. The URBs are time windows where the USB device has anopportunity to put data on the wire. Often times in a USB device awindow is not fully utilized and, thus, a request block or “bucket” isonly partially filled and sent. Partially-filled request blocks requireadditional processing at the host and holes are filled with specialvalues that must be ignored by downstream systems. Processing emptyholes is processor-intensive since each bucket needs to be examined. Instep 958, this problem is alleviated by filling the URB completely withdata. When the requested block is not filled with data, step 958 isagain performed to ensure that the bucket is filled with data. In step958, when the URB is full of data, step 962 is performed. Step 962communicates the URB to the receiving unit. Thus, only filled buckets orrequest blocks are sent, and empty buckets or request blocks are notsent.

Those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the foregoingdescription that the broad teachings of the disclosure can beimplemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this disclosureincludes particular examples, the true scope of the disclosure shouldnot be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to theskilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings, the specification andthe following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a display; an enclosedover-the-air tuner housing, said housing comprising an input powerconnector, an antenna input, and a tuner signal output mounted thereto;a dual terrestrial over-the-air tuner circuit module disposed within thetuner housing in communication with the input power connector, theantenna input and the tuner signal output, said dual terrestrialover-the-air tuner circuit module generating a first tuner signal from afirst terrestrial over-the-air tuner and a second tuner signal from asecond terrestrial over-the-air tuner and communicating the first tunersignal and the second tuner signal through the tuner signal output; anda host device separate from the housing and the display and incommunication with the display, said host device having at least onehost tuner and a controller disposed therein, said host device incommunication with the tuner signal output, said controller controllingcommunication between the dual terrestrial over-the-air tuner and thehost device by assigning a first device node to the first tuner signaland a second device node to the second tuner signal, said controllerassigning a first multiplexer channel for first data of the first devicenode and a second multiplexer channel for second data of the seconddevice node.
 2. A system as recited in claim 1 wherein the tuner housinghas a power output connector.
 3. A system as recited in claim 2 whereinthe host device has a host power input in communication with poweroutput.
 4. A system as recited in claim 3 wherein the host devicecomprises a tuner signal input in communication with the tuner signaloutput.
 5. A system as recited in claim 2 wherein the host devicecomprises a television receiving device.
 6. A system as recited in claim2 wherein the host device comprises a satellite television receivingdevice.
 7. A system as recited in claim 1 wherein the tuner signaloutput comprises a universal serial bus connector.
 8. A system asrecited in claim 1 wherein the tuner signal output comprises a wirelessoutput.
 9. A system as recited in claim 1 wherein the tuner signaloutput comprises an Ethernet output.
 10. A system as recited in claim 1wherein the tuner signal output comprises a Bluetooth® output.
 11. Asystem as recited in claim 1 wherein the input power connector comprisesan alternating current connector.
 12. A system as recited in claim 1further comprising a light emitting diode indicator coupled to thehousing and indicating a status.
 13. A system as recited in claim 12wherein the light emitting diode indicator is coupled to a front panelof the housing.
 14. A method comprising: coupling an external device toa receiving unit to form a connection; detecting the connection withinthe receiving unit having a device driver; activating and initializingthe external device from the receiving unit after detecting so thatcommunication between the external device and the receiving unit isenabled wherein activating and initializing comprises attaching adestination to a device node of the external device, receiving data fromthe external device and assigning a multiplexer channel in the devicedriver for the data of the device node; and after actuating andinitializing, communicating between the external device and thereceiving unit.
 15. A method as recited in claim 14 wherein coupling anexternal device to a receiving unit to form a connection comprisesforming a wireless connection.
 16. A method as recited in claim 14wherein coupling an external device to a receiving unit to form aconnection comprises forming a wired connection.
 17. A method as recitedin claim 14 wherein coupling an external device comprises coupling atuner module.
 18. A method as recited in claim 14 wherein coupling anexternal device comprises connecting a dual tuner module to thereceiving device.
 19. A method as recited in claim 14 wherein couplingan external device comprises connecting a dual terrestrial over-the-airhigh definition tuner to the receiving device.
 20. A method as recitedin claim 14 wherein coupling an external device comprises connecting astorage device to the receiving device.
 21. A method as recited in claim14 wherein connecting an external device comprises connecting a digitalvideo recorder to the receiving device.
 22. A method as recited in claim14 wherein connecting an external device comprises connecting anexternal device to a satellite television set top box.
 23. A method asrecited in claim 14 wherein detecting the connection comprises detectingthe connection through a universal serial bus driver.
 24. A method asrecited in claim 14 wherein multiple external devices are connected to areceiving device.
 25. An external system in communication with a hostdevice therein comprising: an enclosed housing comprising an input powerconnector mounted to the housing and a signal output connector mountedto the housing in communication with the host device; and a circuitmodule disposed within the housing in communication with the input powerconnector and the signal output connector, said circuit modulegenerating a first tuner signal and a second tuner signal andsimultaneously communicating the first tuner signal and the second tunersignal through the signal output as a first multiplexer channel and asecond multiplexer channel corresponding to a first device node and asecond device node of the host device.
 26. A system as recited in claim25 wherein the circuit module comprises a first tuner generating thefirst tuner signal.
 27. A system as recited in claim 26 wherein thefirst tuner comprises an over-the-air tuner.
 28. A system as recited inclaim 27 wherein the housing comprises an antenna input mounted to thehousing, said antenna input in communication with the first tuner.
 29. Asystem as recited in claim 25 wherein the circuit module comprises afirst tuner and a second tuner.
 30. A system as recited in claim 25wherein the circuit module comprises a memory device and a first tuner.31. A system as recited in claim 25 wherein the circuit module generatesthe first signal and the second signal and simultaneously communicatesthe first signal and the second signal through the signal outputconnector in response to a control signal from a controller disposedwithin the host device.
 32. A system as recited in claim 25 wherein thesignal output connector comprises one of a universal serial busconnector, at least one a wireless output, an Ethernet output, and aBluetooth® output.
 33. A system comprising: an external system asrecited in claim 25; and the host device.
 34. A system as recited inclaim 33 wherein the host device comprises a set top box.
 35. A systemas recited in claim 33 wherein the circuit module comprises a firsttuner and a second tuner and the host device comprises a televisionreceiving device comprising a third tuner.
 36. A system as recited inclaim 35 wherein at least one of the first tuner and the second tunercomprises an over-the-air tuner.
 37. A system as recited in claim 33wherein the circuit module comprises a first tuner and a second tunerand the host device comprises a satellite television receiving devicecomprising a third tuner.
 38. A system as recited in claim 33 whereinthe housing has a power output connector and the host device has a hostpower input in communication with power output.
 39. A system as recitedin claim 33 wherein the host device comprises a signal input incommunication with the signal output.